


You Like Her Better

by OphidianII



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Based on a Conan Gray Song, Eventual Levi/Eren Yeager, Fluff and Angst, Jealous Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Jealousy, M/M, Minor Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Eren Yeager, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Song: Heather (Conan Gray), Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:00:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26300830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OphidianII/pseuds/OphidianII
Summary: I still remember, third of December me in your sweater.You said it looked better on me, than it did you.Only if you knew how much I liked you. But I watch your eyes, as she walks by,What a sight for sore eyes, brighter than a blue sky.She's got you mesmerizedWhile I die.Why would you ever kiss me?I'm not even half, as pretty.You gave her your sweater, It's just polyester, but you like her better.Wish I were HeatherWatch as she stands with her holding your hand.Put your arm 'round her shoulder, now I'm getting colderBut how could I hate her?She's such an angel, But then again, kinda Wish she were dead.—————————Story based around the song Heather by Conan Gray, in which Levi falls in love with Eren only to see he has eyes on a girl, Historia Reiss. But will Eren realize Levi’s feelings?
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. The Third of December

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, so this is my first time writing on here, I shall try my best! I hope you enjoy ^-^  
> This will be first person for lyric purposes but future works of mine will be third person :) also The writing style might be a little weird but I’m trying to figure out how to go about it.

_I still remember the third of December..._

I sat alone outside at the lunch table. Unfortunately that day it was colder than usual but there were no empty tables left in the cafeteria considering no one particularly wanted to be outside in this cold. Who could blame them really? It was my first year of Highschool and already half way through the year and only one friend. An annoying bratty brunette girl from my biology class. She was the only person who had bothered to talk to me but unfortunately we didn’t share a lunch block. So that is how it was everyday. I sat somewhere alone to eat, but that day with the cafeteria so crowded I had no choice but to eat outside.

I shivered from the cold. I didn’t have any jacket with me. I slowly picked at my school lunch which was quickly becoming cold. One could say I was lonely but in all honesty I didn’t mind all that much. I wasn’t a particularly social guy. Most people got on my nerves anyways, and shitty glasses is no exception but at the very least she’s entertaining and nice so I couldn’t complain.  
I definitely wasn’t expecting someone to sit down next to me. I looked up from my food and looked to the side seeing a tan boy with bright eyes and messy brown hair. He was cute, but why would he sit with me?

“Hey! My name is Eren I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around. You looked lonely and cold, do you not have a coat?” The boy spoke. I stared at him for a moment a bit stunned that he was being so nice. If I was honest, he struck me for the popular pretty boy type, one that wouldn’t hang around someone that wasn’t quite to their ‘status’.

“Oh. I’m Levi. I usually sit inside but there wasn’t any room. And no I don’t... but it’s alright.” I responded. The boy seemed to frown. I wasn’t really sure why, perhaps he just didn’t believe that I was fine.  
Suddenly the boy started taking off the blue sweater that he was wearing over his other shirt.

“Here” He smiled.

I stared at him once again even more stunned. I definitely wasn’t expecting that, he didn’t even know me. I felt a bit of heat rising to my face but luckily the cold was a good cover up. How could I not blush? This cute as hell boy was not only being nice to me but offering me his sweater? It was a sweet gesture though I found it a little odd. He must just be a kind person. I shook my head “I’m alright really”

He shook his head. “No even your face is red you gotta be cold. Why didn’t you bring something warmer to wear?” He asked insisting. He draped the sweater over my head “Just take it” he told me.

“I- Okay fine...and I don’t really own anything warmer...” I said a bit ashamed. Me and my mother were really poor. She did her best to provide what she could for me but most money went to food and my meds. I pulled the sweater on over my head. It was still warm from him wearing it. It had a certain smell to it. Must be how he smelled. It was so nice. It was a bit big on me but It was comfortable.

He looked a bit surprised so I looked down. I didn’t like people knowing how bad off I was. I didn’t want to seem like I was looking for attention. It could be worse after all. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him smile. “Keep it then! It looks better on you than me anyways” the boy spoke.

My eyes snapped over to him. “W-what?” He had caught me off guard and it didn’t help the blush already present on my face. “Umm no I couldn’t, it’s yours” I responded.

he just chuckled softly “you’re cute. It’s fine really Mikasa almost always has a jacket in her bag if I get too cold I’ll just steal hers” he insisted. “Like I said I think it suits you better. Blue isn’t really my color.” He added

I once again stared at him for a moment before just quietly mumbling “thanks” then went back to eating my food in silence. I expected him to leave but he didn’t. Instead he kept talking to me until Lunch was over and we went our separate ways while I still wore his sweater. 

—————

The third of the December was the day that I met Eren Jaeger. After that day he kept coming to find me during lunches to talk to me and I of course wore that sweater he gave me everyday. He was so kind and for a while other than Hanji, was my only other friend. Though not long after meeting him I wished for more than just a friendship, but I could never bring myself to tell him.  
  


Here I am now in senior year still glued to his side and still wearing his sweater whenever the days get cold. The sweater was worn by now but I still cherish it, despite now having better clothing. I got a job at a local tea shop to help me pay for things and ease the burden on my poor mother who had grown sickly over the years. Now I am the one that mostly cares for her, even though she still works. Perhaps cause she feels like she’s a burden to me now. I really don’t mind though. She’s done so much for me, it’s only fair I care for her when she needs me.

Eren comes by a lot as well to help me. He’s so considerate and selfless sometimes. Always doing things for his friends. It’s a miracle he’s been single all this time. Though he always said he just hasn’t found someone that’s caught his eye... which always hurt to hear. If only I’d caught his eye. I’ve felt this way for so long. Hanji teased me for quite a while about finding someone since I’ve been single all this time but upon properly meeting Eren Junior year she quickly realized why I hadn’t been with anyone. After all it’s unfair to date when you have feelings for another...

Now she just teases me about my feelings for Eren, she’s always trying to convince me to tell him but I’ve been too afraid. I’ve never confessed to someone, and I don’t necessarily have a way with words, nor do I ever express much of what I’m feeling. I’ve earned a reputation of being cold and heartless, though people close to me know it isn’t true, I’m just not good at outwardly expressing myself as well as I can be a bit easy to annoy. I did manage to make a couple new friends other than Eren and Hanji this year though. Their names were Erwin and Mike. They were step brothers and moved here this year.   
  
My friends almost convinced me to confess to Eren but now... I’m not too sure.

—————

I walked into the school building and see him in the usual place that he stands with his other friends in the morning. I strolled over with the same stoic expression that I always wore.   
Even after all this time I wasn’t particularly close with Eren’s friends. There wasn’t really any particular reason just a mutual lack of communication. Not that it mattered much to me, most of them were a bit loud and one loud obnoxious brat was enough. Mikasa never seemed to like me very much, I never bothered to ask why cause quite frankly I didn’t care. Armin was quiet and a sweet guy. Really quiet. He spent most of his time in the library so I never got the chance to speak to him often at school and when he was with Eren he was pretty shy, usually had his nose buried in some science fiction novel.

Eren smiled brightly the moment he saw me. That was normal for him. I walked over with my hands buried in my pockets. “Good morning man, what’s up?” He asked

I simply shrugged. “Morning. Not much, shit morning as always. How bout you brat?” I asked. Brat was almost like a pet name. He used to get all offended over it and try to tell me he wasn’t but now he didn’t even give the name a second thought. Eren seemed to have gotten pretty used to the way I speak.

”I’m decent enough.” He said then looked down at what I was wearing. He let out a chuckle. “You’re still wearing that old thing? If you need a new one I don’t mind paying for one.” He offered

There he goes again, being so kind and selfless. So willing to help, but I shook my head. “No, I like this one just fine.” I told him. The sweater was oddly important to me. It gave me some hope that perhaps Eren returned my feelings, perhaps he had thought I was cute or something. He did say it looked better on me after all...

  
He raised his eyebrow at me but then shrugged. “Alright, if you say so.” I just nodded.

I looked around and spotted Hanji, Erwin and Mike all talking. “Oh. Hanji and them are over there. I’ll see you at lunch?”   
  


“Definitely”

I walked over to my friends on my way over I saw this girl. A beautiful blond with bright blue eyes. I didn’t recognize her. She must be new. After all this wasn’t a particularly big school. I didn’t really think much about it though and just joined my friends who greeted me just as they did every morning.   
  


“Awe there you are my little shorty~” Hanji gushed and put her arm around me. I rolled my eyes. She was about the only person that was able to get away with this without me hurting her.

”Tch. Get off me shitty glasses. Would ya” I grumbled at her and shook her off.

She just laughed, not at all intimidated by my demeanor. “So grumpy just like always.”

”The fact that you’re alive is a miracle Hanji” Erwin interjected seemingly trying to keep back a snicker.

The sound of a school bell interrupted the interaction and the three of us went our separate ways to attend our first classes of the day.   
I had the middle lunch block with my three friends, Eren, and Armin, though Armin usually ate in the library so he rarely joined our lunch table. There would be some days Eren would leave the table after eating to go hang out with Armin, though I never offered to join.

I went through my classes for the day, unfortunately I didn’t share any of them with Eren though I did have a History class with Erwin.   
  


Lunch soon rolled around. Me and Erwin made our way to the cafeteria just talking about our plans for a project in our class. We got into the lunch line letting Hanji get a table for us since she didn’t need to get a school lunch.   
by the time we arrived at the table the other three were already there. I sat down between Hanji and Eren both of which were digging into their lunches.

Eren suddenly looked over at me.   
“Hey Levi, here” he said handing me a cookie. “I’m trying to learn how to bake and I made these last night, I thought I’d bring you one” he said smiling.

”Oh. Thanks” I responded and took the cookie he offered me and tried it. “It’s good.” I told him simply

I saw Hanji give us that dumb but mischievous smile. “Awww what about my cookie, only Levi gets one? Picking favorites I see” She huffed. It would normally seem like jealous whining but I knew better than that. I knew exactly what she was trying to pull.   
  


“Yep sorry, Levi’s just special” Eren said and put his arm over my shoulders. This wasn’t the first time he’s done this, but of course every time sent me into a small internal panic. Not that anyone would be able to tell from looking at me. It didn’t help that I never really saw him show much affection towards anyone else..maybe I was special after all?

But no. I wasn’t as I’d soon find out only a few days later.   
Once again in that lunch room sitting at the table. There was that girl again. But there was something I noticed. Eren watched her as she walked by. That look in his eyes. It was different than any look he’s seen him give his other friends. The girl smiled and waved at Eren who waved back immediately. Was he... blushing?   
It made since that girl was gorgeous... 

“who’s that?” Erwin asked

”Oh, her name is Historia, she just moved here a few days ago. She’s in my first block, and super sweet.” Eren explained. “Plus she’s beautiful but I’m sure a girl like that is already taken” he added.

My heart dropped when I heard him say that. What about me...? No... how could I ever compare to a girl like her? Especially if she was as great as Eren seemed to think...


	2. If Only You Knew...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren gets closer to Historia all while completely oblivious to Levi’s feelings for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter may be a little short, I apologize. I also haven’t proofread it yet, I’ll get to that soon though so for now forgive any errors.

_If only you knew how much I liked you..._

The next day rolled around but I hadn’t really smiled much since the whole interaction from yesterday. Though it wasn’t like anyone noticed. It wasn’t like me to smile a whole lot anyways. But not even Eren seemed to notice my shift in demeanor, it hurt some but he himself seemed a bit distracted. Probably too busy thinking about her. I felt stupid. I should’ve known I was nothing special but... did he really have no idea how I felt?

”Hey Levi guess what!” Eren said as I took my seat next to him at the lunch table.   
I looked over at him just tilting my head in curiosity instead of giving a verbal response but Erens known me long enough to know what that meant.

“She gave me her number in first block! I mean I asked her for it so I could text her about course work... but still! Do you think I could have a chance?” Eren asked. There was this sparkle in his eyes. He looked so excited, almost like a puppy.

I was speechless for a moment just looking at his face. My heart of course tore in two but the look on his face was cute enough to give me a rush of different emotions.

“Yeah... She’d be crazy not to like you.” I finally managed to answer.

He whined which caused me to raise an eyebrow at him. “You hesitated!” He huffed “you’re just trying to tell me what I want to hear aren’t you?” He muttered.

This idiot... how could he possibly be so oblivious. Could he not see that it’s hard to tell the person you’ve liked for years to go chase after another? “No you idiot. I really mean that” I said rolling my eyes at him then ruffling his hair playfully, still I didn’t give him that playful smirk that I normal would when messing with him. But once again he was too busy celebrating his chances that he didn’t even notice.

Eren might not of noticed but damn four eyes sure did... she gave me this soft sympathetic look. I didn’t need her sympathy though, nor did I want it. I avoided her eyes and just looked down at my food trying to ignore Eren gushing of this girl. He never wanted Eren to shut up as much as he did right then.

For once I was relieved when I heard the sound of that bell signaling that lunch was over and it was time to return to our classes. I was quick to pick up my bag and leave the table without saying bye. I don’t know if Eren actually took notice of it or not. At least I didn’t have to listen to anymore of that. Historia this. Historia that. Was she really all that great?

I suppose it didn’t matter. Eren was one of my best friends. I was supposed to support him. I knew damn well he’d drop everything for me so it’s only fair that I don’t get in his way and further complicate matters.

—————

The day was pure agony. Why couldn’t he just get out of my head already... it was so frustrating.   
I collapsed face down on my bed and grumbled before slowly flipping over onto my back and staring up at the ceiling.

Why couldn’t I just get those beautiful eyes out of my mind? His eyes, his bright as smile, his selfless attitude. I gripped onto the fabric of the soft blue sweater and sighed.   
I couldn’t help but imagine what being with him would be like. Being held by him, being close, most importantly how it would feel to have Erens lips on his own. His lips always looked so soft and kissable, it was after an internal fight with myself not to just lean in and kiss him. But that would be wrong, he couldn’t just kiss him like that.   
  


_What was the point in even thinking about it? Why would he ever kiss me? I’m not even half as pretty..._

No... not at all. That girl was gorgeous, from her long perfect blond hair, her eyes brighter than the blue sky. Her small perfect frame... not to mention Eren probably was straight... I hadn’t ever bothered to ask, quite honestly that probably would have been good information to know but right now I at least knew Eren liked girls.   
I covered my face with my hands and sighed. God I’m such an idiot. How did I manage to get myself here? If only I wasn’t so damn scared, If only I could tell him... If only he knew how much I liked him.   
  


These feelings were tearing me apart. What was I even supposed to do at this point? I guess I’d just have to forget these feelings, though that would be easier said then done. If they did get together would I be able to watch them every day? Watch as he gave all his attention to someone else. I was so selfish to want him to myself knowing that I wasn’t what Eren wanted. I had to suck it up and be a friend. That’s the best thing to do.

Suddenly my door opened and I removed my hands from my face and just glanced with my eyes towards my door to see my poor pale mother.

”Hey sweetie is everything okay?” She asked softly. I managed to give her a small sad smile.

”Yes mom everything’s alright” I said and got up going to her. She had gotten so frail. I hugged her. “Come on mom let’s go down stairs, I’ll make us some tea then get started on dinner” I told her.

”Oh no sweetie it’s alright I can make dinner” She said. I gave her a soft look.

”Mom it’s alright, you’ve done so much for me I don’t mind” I assured her. She smiled and put a hand on my check.

”I’m so lucky to have such a sweet boy” She whispered. I just gave her a small smile and helped her down the stairs. She really tried so hard for me but her health was rapidly deteriorating. She shouldn’t still be going to work but she did every morning. Luckily it wasn’t anything too labor intensive but still I was worried. It wouldn’t be long before she needed to stay home. I’d probably try to get another job to cover any days I didn’t have a shift.   
  


I made sure she was comfortable in her chair and handed her the TV remote so she could watch whatever was on. “Thank you dear” she said and I gave a short nod.

I then went to the Kitchen and got to work. I guess you could say I was a mamas boy but I didn’t even know my father so it wasn’t like I had another option. I hated that bastard for leaving us. For leaving her all alone to care for me.   
at least this was a nice distraction, I’d rather be putting my energy into caring for my mother then wallowing in my own self pity all cause the boy I liked didn’t return my feelings. I felt so ridiculous, I had so much more important things to worry about then a silly Highschool crush.   
  


But of course knowing that didn’t change a thing. The heart was an annoying stubborn thing sometimes.   
  


—————

Days passed just as before but with every passing day things got worse. I wasn’t even safe away at home since Eren had taken up calling me to talk about how things were going with the girl. The whole time I was supportive and tried to pretend that it didn’t hurt. I tried to pretend I was okay. Though I’d done that my whole life so this wasn’t really all that different I suppose.

That day was different though. It was cold but we sat outside, It was the third of December, here we were again at this day. Usually this day made me happy. The day I met Eren. But this was different. As I went to the table she was there sitting where I’d normally sit next to Eren. I paused for a moment but Eren gave me this smile, one saying ‘sorry but please let me have this’. I couldn’t stop my frown from deepening though and just took the last empty seat which was between Hanji and Erwin.   
  


The two both looked at me with that damn sympathetic look that I’d been getting a lot lately but it just annoyed me further. Pity was useless. It wouldn’t make Eren like me. Besides that girl made him happy for some goddamn reason.

”Hello!” She said, her voice was so soft and sweet. “My name is Historia you’re Levi right? Eren told me about you” she said while smiling. She got up leaning across putting her hand out to shake mine. He talks about me? The thought immediately faded as I remembered Eren had feelings for the girl. I decided not to be rude and just shook her hand. For Eren. I couldn’t go scaring off his crush.

”Yeah. He told me about you too, nice to meet you” I reluctantly responded. 

“You too!” She said. She seemed excited to meet us all.

She contributed in our conversations and I could see where Eren was coming from. She was both beautiful and sweet. Everything she did was done so delicately. If I wasn’t gay I’d probably be interested myself...

There was a gust of wind and the girl shivered and rubbed her arms through her sleeves. “Man it’s pretty cold out here,” she said with a small laugh. I was warm though in Erens old sweater.

Though I wasn’t prepared to watch him taking off his new sweater and handing it to the girl, “here this will help.” He said.

My heart dropped and I looked down at my food not watching the girl slip on his sweater, but I heard her thank him. I messed with the sleeves of the old blue sweater that I still wore that suddenly felt so much less special.

”Keep it okay? You look cute” I heard Erens voice say. I thought back to the words he said when we met, I remembered him tell me how this sweater looked better on me, but now I didn’t feel like those words held any weight at all.   
  


Just minutes later the bell rang and I quickly grabbed my things and left never looking back up at them. I just couldn’t bare to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is stressful as hell so sorry if I am slow with the updates or have short chapters, I suppose this was a bad time to try and start a book-

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry if I don’t update frequently


End file.
